Microsoft To Allow Monetisation of Gameplay Streams Via Twitch and YouTube

Monetisation of gameplay streams has been a recurring topic over the last few years. Some companies love it (free press!) and some don’t (stop stealing our shit!). Microsoft, it seems, falls into the former camp of happy streamers, as they reveal that they are perfectly happy for you to make a few quid off of Xbox gameplay streams, providing you follow the rules.

This will come as good news for the guys and gals’ on Twitch and YouTube who are making a name for themselves via Gameplay Streaming. Now, about those rules…

• “You can’t sell or otherwise earn any compensation from your item, including through advertisements in the item. This means you can’t charge money in exchange for your item, post it on a site that requires subscription or other fees to view the item, or post it on a page you use to sell other items or services.”
• “You may make your item available on Youtube or Twitch and participate in programs on those sites that allow you to earn revenue from ads displayed in connection with your item.”
• “You may use the item on a page where you ask for optional donation requests.”
• “Your Items may not use the name of the Microsoft Game in their title. For example, we don’t object to “Red vs. Blue”. We don’t object to “Operation Chastity”. But we do object to “Halo [insert the title of your Item here]”. We want to make sure consumers don’t get confused.”
• “If you want to use the soundtracks or audio effects from the original game, we often license those from or to third parties and don’t always have the rights to pass them on to you. If we do, we’ll let you know. For example, we might mention on the community website for a particular game whether you have these rights, so you’d do well to check. If we don’t let you know, you need permission from a third party, especially for games with licensed music. But we’ll confirm right here that the music from Halo 3 is available for your use in non-profit ventures thanks to an arrangement with O’Donnell/Salvatori, Inc, composers of this iconic theme.”

Go forth, and stream!

Original Story CVG.